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John Hunter Nemechek has basically grown up in front of the NASCAR community over the past two decades. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

John Hunter Nemechek has publicly matured into a NASCAR top prospect

The 19-year-old has grown up in front of the media spotlight

March 30, 2017

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John Hunter Nemechek is widely regarded as a top NASCAR prospect and total package, but he’s also a work in progress.

He’s often the first to admit it, too.

Sometimes It’s hard to remember that he’s just 19 years old. He’s been around for so long -- be it in the Cup Series garage attached to his dad, Joe, or as a driver competing in full-size Stock Cars since he was 14.

Despite racing for his modest family team, Nemechek has put together an impressive resume thus far. He has three victories in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and wins in the two biggest Super Late Model races in the country, the Snowball Derby and All-American 400.

But he’s also earned a reputation for having a short temper, and he drew criticism for how he defeated Cole Custer on the final lap of the road-course race at Bowmanville last summer. That race ended with hard contact into the frontstretch wall and a drag race to the finish.

Custer charged at Nemechek and tackled him beneath the starter’s stand before the scuffle was broken up by crew members and NASCAR officials. In hindsight, that wasn’t the way Nemechek wanted to win, and he didn’t mean to end up in the grass, either.

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park had plenty of fireworks during the race ... and after. Minutes after John Hunter Nemechek drove his No. 8 Chevrolet ...

"We definitely got a lot of hate after that race," Nemechek told Autoweek. "But when you go back and look at it, the circumstances didn't play out the way I had intended. I didn't try to end up in the grass, and I was trying to stay on the asphalt, but also doing everything I could to get across the finish line first."

Despite hard driving by both combatants, Nemechek earned most of the scorn on social media that week. It was a far cry from the reception he received in 2015 when he won the Truck Series most popular driver award.

But this happened on the final lap, and Nemechek knows chances at victory lane are rare.

"As far as my reputation of being aggressive, there are times to be patiently aggressive and times to be really aggressive," Nemechek said. "Growing up in the Late Model ranks, you learn where those two circumstances fall.

"Wins don't come around very often, so if you have the opportunity, you're going to do everything in your power to make sure you win for your team."

He’s had a good teacher in helping him know the difference, too.

Joe Nemechek is John Hunter’s car owner, teammate and father, but more importantly, he’s a life coach of sorts. The Nemecheks are a religious family, and the elder Nemechek has used racing as a means to help his son grow as a person.

"There's a lot more to life than racing," Joe said. "There are life lessons to be learned here, and that's a huge part of what we do at NEMCO Motorsports -- be it with John Hunter or anyone that comes through our system.

"In John Hunter's case, I was still running Cup at the time he got started, so I couldn't always be with him. It was important that we surrounded him with good Christians that taught him the right values. And I think we’ve succeeded because he’s learned that it’s not just about being a good race car driver, but also a good person."

By any standard, NEMCO Motorsports has enjoyed a great deal of success since returning to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2014, but that statement especially holds merit considering the ...

And complicating things is that Nemechek has had to grow up in front of a national audience, with the motorsports community watching his every step from a driver’s son to a top prospect in his own right.

Like any teenager, he’s made a few missteps. But unlike most teenagers, Nemechek had to grow up in front of the entire world.

"I think when you grow up like I have, it puts a little more pressure on you than a normal everyday kid," Nemechek said. "Because you can’t make mistakes. You have to be careful about what you do on a racetrack, what you say, and I definitely think that’s been a great learning experience…

"You learn a lot from watching, listening, and everyone has bad days. Everyone makes mistakes, but you learn from them and move on. I’m still learning, too."

In that sense, Nemechek is one of the most relatable up-and-comers in quite some time. He isn’t always polished. He’s as sincere as they come, and most importantly, he’s set high expectations for himself.

He’s poised to become a bona fide championship contender this season, and he should be in position to graduate to the Xfinity Series if everything goes according to plan. Nemechek isn’t yet a finished product, but his upside is tremendous.

"The thing I want people to know is that I’m really passionate," Nemechek said. "I’ll pretty much do whatever it takes to make sure that I’m in a race car and contending somehow. I’m at the shop every day doing my part to make these trucks faster.

"I’m very grateful and blessed to have the team and family we have at NEMCO, and I hope I can make the most of it."